Introduction:
1. On 15 November, a spokesman for the Iran-aligned Houthis stated that “Israeli ships are legitimate targets and that [Houthis] would target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait”. On 22 November, the Houthi also know n as Ansar Allah, renewed the warning that any ship belonging to Israel or those who support it, would be a legitimate target for Houthi forces adding that they would continue to “carry out military operations against the Israeli enemy until the aggression against the Gaza Strip stops.”
The Threat
2.It is important to highlight that only vessels with links through ownership or trade with Israel are primarily at risk, although misidentification or collateral damage to non-Israeli aligned shipping is a possibility.
3. The incident reported in paragraph 4.(1) below, regarding the boarding of GALAXY LEADER by Houthi militia from a helicopter, brought a previously unknown capability to light. Other threats that the Houthi can deliver are attack from fast/agile patrol vessels such as those that supported the GALAXY LEADER hijack, the use of sea mines, Water Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (WBIED) or maritime drones, aerial drones, and ballistic missiles.
4. The following incidents have been reported during 22-27 November 2023.
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